North Korea coach offers blunt assessment on exiting Asian Cup

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DPA ©

DPR Korea coach Jo Tong-sop

 North Korea coach Jo Tong Sop offered a blunt
assessment of his squad following Wednesday's 4-1 hammering by Saudi
Arabia which led to their elimination from the Asian Cup.
With one game remaining in Group B, North Korea have yet to record a
point and China's 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan guaranteed Jo's side
would make an early exit.
"I think it is good that we were able to participate in the finals,
but I think our skills and levels (of performance) are not high
enough," he said.
"We are still developing. We have to continue developing as quickly
as possible to create even better players in the future."
North Korea started the match with Saudi Arabia in positive fashion
and were close to scoring even before they broke the deadlock in the
11th minute.
"The start of the match was okay," Jo said. "I think our defensive
strategy was working very well until we conceded the second goal. In
the second half I think the players lost their concentration and that
is the main reason (for the defeat).
"Today's match was a decisive one for both teams and the result was
not a very happy one for our team. I will do my best to prepare for
the next match."
North Korea finish their competition against China, who have already
guaranteed progress to the knock-out phase, and will look to claim at
least a draw to match their total of one point from the 2011 finals.
"We still have one more match," Jo said. "We will do our best to win
this match because it is fair play and in the spirit of football."